New BlackBerry phones prompt Société Générale upgrade

BlackBerry rose the most in almost three months after Société Générale SA boosted its rating on the stock to buy from sell, saying channel checks show the Canadian smartphone maker’s new devices are selling well.

The shares gained 6.3 per cent to $14.42 at the close in New York, the biggest jump since March 20. The stock has climbed 21 per cent this year.

BlackBerry is seeking to revive sales after losing market share to Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy devices. This year the company introduced the Z10, which has a touch-screen, and the Q10, which targets BlackBerry loyalists with a physical keyboard.

“Our base case scenario now assumes that the new handset sales have been faster than we previously assumed,” Andy Perkins, a Société Générale analyst, wrote.

Société Générale forecasts Z10 sales of more than 4 million in the fiscal first quarter, up from 1 million in the prior period. Q10 devices could reach almost 1 million, according to an investor note.

First-quarter revenue may be $3.7 billion, up from $2.7 billion in the prior period, he said. That compares with an average analyst estimate of $3.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Samsung accounted for a third of smartphone sales last quarter, while Apple had 17 per cent, according to IDC. Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry saw its share fall to 3.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, before the company dropped out of the top five in this this year.

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